Could Kevin McCarthy be the next majority leader?

June 13, 2014

Kevin McCarthy

Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), a congressman who prior to redistricting represented Paso Robles, is becoming one of the quickest official to become majority leader in congressional history. [Washington Post]

Following Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) primary loss on Tuesday, McCarthy, 49, is poised to win next week’s snap election to succeed Cantor as majority leader. McCarthy appears to have garnered support within the ranks.

After facing criticism that he did not have what it takes to persuade GOP lawmakers to vote with the leadership, McCarthy worked to build personal relationships within the sprawling 233-member Republican Conference through small dinners, workouts in the House gym, and long bike rides on the C&O Canal towpath.

“He’s a savant of relationships,” said Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) to the Washington Post. “He’s better at it than almost anyone I’ve ever seen.”

39 Comments

The very real possibility that Kevin McCarthy could be elevated to Majority Leader also leads to the possibility that he could, in a few months, be elected to House Speaker, which is in the third position of presidential succession. If McCarthy is promoted, he will set some records for how fast he has risen to that position, and possibly how fast he could become the Speaker; I am also hopeful, but not too optimistic that he could set another record by becoming the Speaker with the shortest term of service ever if the Democrats could take back the House in the November elections.

Which also reminds me of how outraged so many fiscal conservatives were about Nancy Pelosi using so many resources to travel back and forth between Washington D.C. and her home district in San Francisco; are those same fiscal hawks going to complain about the costs involved in transporting McCarthy back and forth as well?

We only complain about those who abuse the system, carrying an entourage of family or staff, every week. We haven’t complained about Dianne Feinstein or even Harry Reid because, as far as we know, they don’t abuse the privilege.

The Speaker of the House ( whoever that is, from whatever party ) is third in succession to the presidency. As such, that person is required to have extra security and staff wherever, and whenever they travel. …just as the President and Vice President do.
It’s not their choice.

Kevin McCarthy has managed to do two major things for his district that I can name off the top of my head. He is the one who convinced the CDCs to work on a vaccine against Valley Fever and better ways to treat the fungal disease that is prevalent in his area–and ours.

He also has brought many public officials to Bakersfield and the rest of his district to see the agriculture and water problems.

In Congress he has been a tireless worker and quick learner. I disagree with McCarthy on a few issues, but he has so far proven to be a hard working and respectable Congressman.

McCarthy has sponsored three California Water Bills which have all passed the House. Two were blocked by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (not put out to the Senate for a vote), the third which was passed in Feb. 2014 will likely meet the same fate.

McCarthy is a dolt that has offered four bills that could not pass muster out of committee.
IOW…HE CAN’T count votes ! That’s the Whips job.
He’s just an imbecile with rich friends, and the rest of his equally deficient caucus KNOWS it !

McCarthy is exactly the same type of glad-handling, back-slapping, Washington insider POLITICIAN that Cantor is.
McCarthy is as out of touch with his own supposed constituents, much like what led to Cantor’s defeat. He hob-nobs with Wall Streeters and economic royalists to fund the coalition of Tea-Party radical Reblicans he worked so assiduously to recruit. He really should have to register as a lobbyist.

But …let him go for it. Have McCarthy be the recognized ringleader of the Republican Crazy Train that includes such luminaries as Louie Gohmert, Ted Yoho. Steve King, Renee Ellmers, Blake Farenthold, Steve Southerland, Michael Grimm, and oh so many others that now may include Dave Brat that beat Cantor.

“Savant of relationships” ? Interesting term for the most popular moron in a club of morons.

How can you disparage Dave Brat since he has shown himself to be so godly upon his winning over Eric Cantor? Don’t you remember him waving a piece of paper with a bible verse in the air when he won that stated the direct words from our Savior?: “Jesus replied, ‘What is impossible with man is possible with God!” Barring the fact that he as a man accomplished this win in the same vein as his upcoming DEMONcrat opponent in November. Oh well.

Dave Brat is attending the Satanic Catholic Church at this time, but he identifies himself as a Calvinist, and he lists four churches as affiliations on his resume: St. Michael’s Catholic, Christ Church Episcopal, Third Presbyterian, and Shady Grove Methodist! Is this covering your ass to heaven or not?!

If Dave Brat can’t make up his mind in what contradicting “version” of Christianity he wants to associate with, how can he make up his mind on legislation once he is in office? To TRUE Christians though, it doesn’t matter because He is godly and will try and get bills passed with our Christian agenda in mind.

Anyway, it’s great to have another Christian Tea Party Congressman to help stifle any legislation that doesn’t recognize our Hebrew God and the laws that He has set forth for us to follow, praise!

Hang on Kevin McCarthy, the Tea Party has you in its sights in the name of the Hebrew God!

Brother Ted …Brat also listed among his ‘qualifications’ on his campaign website ( since removed ) that he challenged the ‘intellectual elites’ while at Princeton, except it wasn’t the Ivy League Princeton University that he attended.
No, it was the Princeton Theological Seminary where Brat received a degree in divinity. Not many are aware just how many left wing radicals attend and graduate from such institutions !

McCarthy lists himself as a Southern Baptist, so I’m guessing that Brother Ted has some interesting insights into that cult as well.

And this wonderful jeremiad from a pastor of the faith explaining the hate practiced by Southern Baptists towards other churches and denominations, and the millions of individuals not like ‘them’ :http://www.satansrapture.com/glorious.htm

Really……. I especially enjoyed the satansrapture web site. This is one of the protestant groups (anabaptists) who came here after the Revolutionary War. But I guess you can call any religious group a cult if you want to–I’ve even heard AA called a cult.

It’s not ?
Listen, I know FOB’s do good. They try to.
But a recidivism rate of 75% is hardly something to trumpet, and that’s on the high side.
At least it’s A for effort. A .250 BA may not make one a star in MLB, but you make the team.
( Don’t you LOVE sports metaphors ? It’s a quintessentional American universal language ! ).

Anyway, I do have a great deal of respect for AA and the totally voluntary and anonymous work they do..

My problem with “Calvinists” is that they believe God picks and chooses who goes to Heaven and who goes to hell…predestination. That is the epitome of pride and arrogance and an affront to Christianity.

I’m not arguing here, just a good ole theological exploration…since many believe and adhere to the doctrine that “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”, then that presupposes that everyone automatically is beyond salvation.
Thus, EVERYONE is condemned to HELL. There would be no need, utility, or use of religion or faith if that be the case. All would live lives of selfish hedonism …and many do seem to follow that path, while publicly proclaiming otherwise. Hypocrisy just another sin laid on the table, as it were ( is ).

The God Elohim of Genesis 1 bare an open banquet to everyone and everything. The god jehovah of genesis II put man in a garden of pleasures to tempt him: with women, talking snakes, and poisoned fruits of KNOWLEDGE.

Hard choices I know…what to believe or believe not.
When one discovers a trickster, a liar, a deceiver; does one ever trust them again ?

Exactly…everyone is doomed to hell…unless they choose eternal life which is ONLY given by God through Jesus Christ His Son. NOTHING you can DO will get you into Heaven, and for sure God gives free choice to anyone who chooses Him. As Christian, I HATE religion. Religion is man screwing up what God has given us. Man trying to make THEIR rules on how to get into Heaven.

Budget Munster Paul Ryan of Wisconsin claims to be a Catholic,yet has been denounced by others of the faith because he espouses the Atheistic Ayn Rand philosophy.
Brat acknowledges similar sympathies with anti-religious greed.

Brat says he attends a Catholic Church. But you are right. We all believed that Obama was a Christian because he said he was, and all the lying leftists said so. Since becoming President, he has only graced the halls of a Christian Church a few times.

Ronald Reagan never once attended any church during his entire presidential term, despite professing a profound religious devotion. Likewise, George HW Bush and GW Bush rarely attended serices while proclaiming to be ‘religious’.
Jimmy Carter regularly attended services while president, as did the Clinton’s when they walked several blocks to Sunday services every week when they were in Washinton. Chelsea even sang in the choir.
While there are no official records,the Obama’s have attended church many times of various christian denominations while in DC as president….St. John’s Episcopal about a block from the White House being most frequent.

Slow in your zest of hate all things conservative your contradictions of yourself and obvious lack of knowledge is hilarious as usual.

You start your second paragraph rant about McCarthy being same as Cantor. True I don’t deny but then you ramble on (as usual) that he is in bed with the Tea Party. Hmm Slow who was it that helped get Cantor out this week? Now you just said McCarthy is cut from same cloth. I at least hope you can figure out the rest. If not please reply and I’ll fill in the rest for you.

I don’t need your help.
The Tea Party are the crazies that Republicans like NIXON knew that they could rely on . The old RACIST southerner Dixiecrat white ignoramuses. They were reliable for 40 years, but now the jerks are happily dying off, and their overweight kids and grandkids ain’t far behind.

HALLELUJAH !

These are hateful people, full of hate themselves. They personify hate, and practice it continually.
For one not to hate what they espouse, one would have to be sick, too !

“He’s a savant of relationships” – translation – “he’s a politician and has neither core nor conviction”. The exact problem with elected officials, quid pro quo (this for that) is the only way they operate.